Switch-operating solenoid



sept. 1, 1925. 1,551,593

C. A. WALKER SWITCH OPERATING SOLENOID Filed Feb. 21, 1924 APatentedSept. 1,'192-5.

To all whom it may concern.'

PATENT oFFlcE. l

CHARLES A. WALKER, 0F KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE.

swlrcn-ornna'rme SOLENOID.

Application tiled February 2i, 1924. Serial No. 694,374.

Be it known that I, CHARLES A. lWALiER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Knoxville, in the county of Knoxand State of Tennessee, haveinvented certain new and usefull Improvements \in Switch-OperatingSolenoids, of fication.

This invention relates to improvements in/ f the construction oi'solenords for operatingJ switches of railway or street car tracks.

lt is now common practice to operate the tongues of street 'car trackswitches by a magnet or solenoid receiving energy Jfrom the power lineoperating the street car'by means controlled by the movement of the carand parts carried thereby. These solenoids are usually mounted betweenthe track rails and below the surface of the street and the rails, andin this position aresubjected to- I the full torce of the elements whichfrequently interferes with the eiiic-ient opera'- tion of the solenoidof the switch'tongues.

An Object of this invention is to provide a solenoid structure forresisting the effects of the elements and other disadvantages of presentstructures having a non-magnetic casing for the solenoid windings whichare sealed in the casing.

PAnother object of the invention is to provide a non-magnetic sealedcasing containing the solenoid winding which is substantially largerthan the winding and which has the remaining portion about the windinglled with oil in order to provide a solenoid assembly which will beJfree from interior corrosion and also from the etects of change inweather .conditions usually causing thecoil to sweat'and therebyproviding a solenoid structure which will overcome present disadvantagesexperienced inl electric switch operation.

The invention also comprehends'other objects 4and improvements in thedetails of construction and arrangement and assembly oi. the parts which,is particularly pointed out in the following description and claims, itbeing understood, however, that variations in the construction of thesepartsv and the arrangement thereof may be made within the scope of thefollowing description and claim.

In the drawing, forming a part of this" application Figure 1 is a sideelevational view ci the complete solenoid structure having a porwhich'the following is aspeci- ,tion of the outer casing broken away to showportions ot the interior coil mounting.

' F1gure2 is a longitudinal sectional view through the solenoid.

-Figure 3 is a sectional View taken on the line3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure t is an end elevation of the assembled solenoid structure.

'1 indicates a tubular coremember which sreceives an annular insulatingdisc 2,' the core member being preferably of brass or other nonmagnet-icmetal. A pair of end discs vare indicated at 3, whi'ch are alsopreferably formed of brass and bra-Zed at their central portions to theends of the tubular core as indicated at 4. A pair of sleeves formed ofinsulating material are indicated at 5, which are positioned over thecore 1 as clearly illustrated in Figure 2 of the drawings and which areof a length shorter than the distance between the insulating discs 2 andthe end plates 3. Magnet windings aie provided at Gand 7 on each side ofthe insulatin disc 2 and` extending to the end disc 3, insulating discmembers 8 being provided adj acent-each end disc 3 and on the inner sidethereof for insulating the windings adjacent the end discs therefrom.These windings`6 and v`7 arealso wound throughout the greater portion'of their length 0n the insulating sleeve 5; while the `portion beyondthe end of the insulating sleeve is wound directly on the core 1, and

thel corresponding ends of each coil are soldered as indicated at 9tothe core, and clearly shown in Figure 2 of the. drawings. The outercoil of each magnet winding at the opposite corresponding end to theends which are soldered to the core, is provided with independent andinsulated wire connections 10 and 11 withthe coils 6 and 7 respectively,which are led outwardly through one of the end walls 3 for connectionwith a proper circuit closing member used in connection with solenoidoperated switch tongues for alternately positioning one or the other ofthe coils in circuit to operate the switch tongues in a desired manner.The wire 11 extends through the insulating disc 2 and -to the oppositeend wall 3, each of the wires 10l and 11 extending through an elbowtting mounting in an opening formed in the end wall, the fitting beingindicated at 12. After the windings 6 and 7 are placed on theVinsulating sleeves 5 and the-core 1 as shown in Figure 2, particularly,and the wires 10 and 11 extended throu l1 the elbow 12, said elbow isplugged with rass or other suitable material for sealing the wires intheelbow in insulated relation. An outer cylindrical casing` 13 receivesthe entire assembly and has the end disc 3 brazed thereto7 this casingbeing preferabl formed of brass to form an integral seal unit. Theconcentric ace beyond the coil windings 6 and 7 is fil ed with/oil,prior to the sealing of the elbow fitting 12 and after the outer housing13 has been properly assembled and brazed on the end isc.

This solenoid is mounted below the track and under the vsurface of theground in a similar manner to that now in use for mounting switch tongueoperating solenoids, and the usual connections are provided vwith thewires 10 and 11, so that either coil 6 or 7 ma be interposed in thecircuit to operate tile switch tongue in a. desired manner.

From the foregoing description, it will be clear that a unit solenoidstructure has been provided in which the coils are mounted in anon-magnetic casing which is airproof, liquid proof and weather proof,and that the oil within thevcasing excludes air from the interiorthereof, protects the magnet winding and prevents corrosion interiorlyof the unit, at the same time not interfering in an mannerwith theeilicient operation of t e magnet winding in receiving current for theoperation of the switch tongue. Sweating, which is usual in the types ofsolenoid structures now used, in

this connection, is also prevented by mounting the coils in anon-magnetic and sealed casing illed with oil which overcomes a serious'disadvantage experienced in present construction, as the sweating. ofthe coils aHects their efficient operation and materially shortens thelife of the solenoids. By mounting' the .coils in a non-magnetic oilfilled casing, the usual disadvantages which have been experienced inthe mounting of the coils on magneticsubstances are also overcome, and agreater power is derived from the magnet coils by this structure.

What is claimed is:

A solenoid structure especially adapted to be used for throwing a switchtongue comprising an exterior casing, a hollow core located within thecasing and traversing the length thereof, and being concentricallypositioned within the casing, end discs carried at the ends of the coreand inserted in the ends of the casing7 a partition disc of insulatingmaterial located within the casing and mounted upon the core at a pointbetween the ends thereof, said disc dividing the interior of the casinginto compartments, sleeves located in the compartment and circumscribingthe core, and partially covering the exterior surface of the core ineach of the compartments, a sealing agent enclosed Within thecompartment, and conductors entering the casing through one of the discsand being Wound about the sleeves and the exposed area of the core.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

CHARLES A. WALKER.

